Ranking of the 134 college football teams after Week 4: Tennessee in top 3; BYU, Navy rising

Editor's Note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

Much of Tennessee's trip to Oklahoma revolved around Volunteers coach Josh Heupel's return to his alma mater. Heupel was right when he told his players, with tears in his eyes, that Saturday's 25-15 win over the Sooners was about them and their future. Right now, Tennessee's future looks like an SEC contender.

After a road win that wasn't as close as the final score, Tennessee moves up to No. 3 in this week's The Athletic 134.

Through four games, the Vols have shown they can win in different ways, and that should bode well for SEC play. Saturday's win was ugly, and that's not a bad thing. Two years ago, the Tennessee team, ranked No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings, could score 40 or 50 points against almost anyone, but ranked 31st in yards per rush on offense and 31st on defense 48th in yards allowed per play. This Tennessee team can run the ball and play better defense.

Yes, Oklahoma's offense struggled, but Tennessee played a game knowing it could maintain a lead, run the ball and defend to fill the clock, and that's exactly what happened. The Vols passed the ball 21 times and ran it 49 times (excluding sacks) while missing two offensive tackles. The Sooners averaged 1.1 yards per carry and turned over three times.

Tennessee is playing at its best right now and after one of the best wins of the weekend, the Vols are moving up in the rankings.

We've reached the point where most teams are a third of the way through their season. Head-to-head results aren't weighted as heavily for teams not on the same level (goodbye, Northern Illinois), but some lopsided results this weekend led to some final big jumps.

Here is the Week 5 edition of The Athletic 134.

1-10

Aside from Tennessee's rise, the only change here is Missouri moving out of the top 10 and Utah moving up to No. 9 after the Utes posted a 22-19 fourth-quarter victory at Oklahoma State, which was 22-3 at one point. I don't think this Utah team's ceiling is high without quarterback Cam Rising, but the defense is as bad as it's ever been and the Utes are the Big 12 favorite.

Georgia's trip to Alabama this Saturday will shake up next week's rankings.

To give Ohio State credit, my preseason No. 1 has now dropped to No. 4 simply because of the schedule. The three teams above the Buckeyes have played against much better opponents. The games against Iowa and Oregon, beginning in October, will be Ohio State's first chance to climb back up.

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AP Top 25 Takeaways: Who's No. 1? Tennessee cannot be ignored in the SEC-heavy debate

11-25

I can't tell if Missouri isn't as good as we expected or it's just messing around with the food too much. Beating Vanderbilt in overtime after playing unexpectedly close against Boston College was not a performance that suggested a top-10 team. The Tigers are testing my patience and will continue to back down with plays like this, even though their schedule is very favorable for an SEC team.

Michigan jumps to No. 11 after a comeback win against USC at home. Like Utah, I don't think the Wolverines' ceiling is high – the offense fizzled out as USC adjusted – but they're also better in the trenches than almost everyone they'll play. BYU makes a big jump to No. 16 after beating Kansas State, a former top-15 team, 38-9. The final margin didn't suggest the box score numbers were in K-State's favor, but BYU's defense looks solid and its earlier win at SMU looks better based on Saturday's results.

Illinois climbs to No. 18 after a win at Nebraska. The Illini are grabbing takeaways and playing efficient offense. This team plays really hard and could be another Bret Bielema classic performer. Louisville finally played against someone of significance, moving up to No. 23 after a 31-19 win over Georgia Tech. Indiana also moves into the Top 25 at No. 24, not because the Hoosiers demolished Charlotte, but because they've demolished everyone so far. The next game against Maryland will show us if that is the case.

Welcome to Top 25, Washington State. The Cougars are 4-0 after stopping a two-point attempt to beat San Jose State in overtime, and their earlier win over Texas Tech looks better this week. They can only make the CFP this year and next year as an overall team, meaning they have to finish near the top 10.

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Michigan proved it can win ugly against USC. That's all that matters – for now

26-50

If Oklahoma wasn't “Oklahoma,” the Sooners wouldn't be in the top 25. They haven't been good all season except for their opening win over Temple, and they fall to No. 26 here as they face big questions on offense stand with the bench change of quarterback Jackson Arnold. Iowa still can't pass the ball, but its new offense is opening up lanes for explosive running back Kaleb Johnson. The Hawkeyes move up to 28th place after beating Minnesota. Texas Tech moves up to No. 35 after beating previously undefeated Arizona State. It's possible that none of these teams are as good as their ranking, but for now, they're here to stay.

SMU's 66-42 win over TCU moved the Mustangs up to No. 36; Their previous loss to BYU doesn't look so bad after what BYU did against Kansas State. Navy makes its biggest jump of the week after beating Memphis, from No. 105 to No. 37. The 3-0 Midshipmen have scored the most points in three games since 1918 and could end up being one of the better teams in the AAC. Northern Illinois falls to No. 38 after blowing an 11-point lead and losing to Buffalo in overtime.

Arkansas' 24-14 win over Auburn drops the Razorbacks to No. 41, while Cal's loss to Florida State drops the Golden Bears to No. 42. James Madison hadn't played well this year, but pulled out an impressive 70-50 win over North Carolina, putting the Dukes at No. 44.

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How JMU, a former women's school, became a disruptive factor in college sports

51-75

North Carolina had been playing well before Saturday, but the JMU loss drops the Tar Heels to No. 55. Virginia Tech falls to No. 58 after a late loss to Rutgers. The bigger problem is that after two losses to Rutgers and Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech now doesn't have much of a chance for meaningful wins. NC State also falls to No. 59 after a 59-35 loss to Clemson, the Wolfpack's second loss this season at the hands of an AP Top 25 team.

Toledo is another Group 5 favorite to fall, this time after a dramatic loss at Western Kentucky. TCU falls to No. 69 after losing to SMU, while Stanford moves up to No. 70 after beating Syracuse with a last-second field goal. TCU's head-to-head win over Stanford explains their relative positioning. Wisconsin fell to No. 71 without playing, but that's simply because other teams (like Stanford) had good wins while Wisconsin was idle. Army is 3-0 and looks pretty solid so far. Maybe service academies are on the rise again? Cincinnati is 3-1 at No. 73 after a 34-0 win over Houston, and the Bearcats may be returning to form. If it weren't for the botched fourth quarter against Pitt…

Kansas dropped to No. 74 after another one-point loss, this time to West Virginia, and Florida State moved up to No. 75 after beating Cal, making it the last Power 4 team to earn a win.

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Stewart Mandel's 12-team playoff predictions after Week 4

76-100

No. 77 San Jose State lost to Washington State, but the Spartans are looking pretty good so far under first-year coach Ken Niumatalolo. Virginia passes Coastal Carolina at No. 79 after defeating the Chanticleers. South Florida falls to No. 78 after a 50-15 loss to Miami. The Bulls' non-conference schedule was tough.

Bowling Green moves up to No. 86 after a one-point loss to Texas A&M and a one-point loss to Penn State. This feels like a team that could do a lot of damage in the MAC. The same goes for Buffalo, which is 3-1 and ranked No. 87 after beating Northern Illinois. Sam Houston is 3-1 and ranked 91st after taking care of business against New Mexico State and could make some noise in Conference USA.

South Alabama is the hardest team to evaluate this week. The Jaguars suffered losses to Ohio and North Texas, but won on the road against Appalachian State 48-14. They were missing quarterback Gio Lopez against Ohio, so maybe they figured things out after an 0-2 start? Or maybe App State is in deep trouble the rest of the year. This is a South Alabama team we need to see more of to make a better read.

Mississippi State is the lowest-ranked Power 4 team at No. 98, and quarterback Blake Shapen is out for the year after suffering a shoulder injury in the 45-28 loss to Florida. Next up are Texas and Georgia. I'm so sorry, Bulldogs.

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101-134

Kudos to #108 Troy and #125 Temple for their first wins of the season. I thought Temple might be an 0-12 contender, but the Owls beat Utah State 45-29. Is a turnaround imminent at UConn? The Huskies played Duke close last week and beat FAU 48-14 on Saturday to move up to No. 113.

FIU, meanwhile, lost to FCS Monmouth at Pitbull Stadium and fell to No. 115. Tulsa defeated Louisiana Tech in overtime to advance to No. 118. Wyoming is quickly falling and is now down to 130th after a 44-17 loss to North Texas. The Cowboys, a perennial bowl team under Craig Bohl, suffered three blowout losses to FBS teams and one loss to FBS Idaho in Jay Sawvel's first season.

Kent State remains at the bottom after outrebounding Penn State 718-67 total yards. This is the biggest gap I've ever seen out of my head.

The Athletic 134 Series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic retains full editorial independence. Partners do not control or participate in the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo: Brian Bahr/Getty Images)